NYCU Professors Honored with Prestigious Awards for Breakthroughs in Brain and Liver Research

(中央社訊息服務20260409 10:41:12)National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) is gaining growing recognition in biomedical research, as two faculty members from its College of Life Sciences have been honored with major national awards for their pioneering work in neuroscience and liver biology.

Professor Cheng-Chang Lien, Dean of the College of Life Sciences, received the Chiung-Lin Chen Memorial Award for Translational Medicine, while Assistant Professor Wei-Chien Yuan of the Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences was named a recipient of the Taiwan Outstanding Women in Science Award (Young Scholar Award).

Their achievements highlight NYCU’s strength in advancing both fundamental scientific discovery and translational medical innovation.

Lien, a leading neuroscientist, has focused his research on the balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain—an essential mechanism underlying cognition and emotional regulation.

His team has systematically elucidated the function and dynamic changes of neural circuits, particularly GABAergic inhibitory pathways, which play critical roles in cognition, anxiety, fear, and chronic pain. His work provides vital insights into how disruptions in these circuits contribute to neurological and psychiatric conditions, laying the groundwork for future translational therapies.

Yuan’s research centers on liver regeneration and tumor development. Through her work, she has identified key genes and signaling pathways that regulate liver cell renewal and cancer formation.

These findings not only deepen understanding of liver physiology but also offer promising directions for the diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases, including liver cancer.

The recognition of both Lien and Yuan reflects NYCU’s continued commitment to excellence in life sciences and its ability to bridge basic research with clinical relevance.

By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across medicine, biology, and engineering, NYCU is positioning itself at the forefront of global biomedical innovation.

As the university continues to expand its research capabilities, such achievements highlight its growing role in addressing some of the most pressing health challenges of our time.